


I See You When You Run From The Light (within your eyes)

by womenstan



Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blind Character, F/M, I'll add tags as we go, M/M, Sobbe endgame, There will be fluff too, not that much angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29355756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/womenstan/pseuds/womenstan
Summary: When Robbe gets coerced into welcoming a new student into the university, he's not particularly happy about it. But Sander is everything he didn’t expect.OR the blind au
Relationships: Aaron Jacobs/Amber Snoeckx, Noor Bauwens/Robbe IJzermans, Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans
Comments: 27
Kudos: 79





	1. Someone New

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy! Please share your opinions, even if it's to simply scream at me <3
> 
> Also this whole thing is dedicated to the Alt er writer's block server!! Thank you Cat, Brenna, Tasfia, Caitlin, Sas, Gab, Sam and Morgan for putting up with me and helping me through this :D ily all

Robbe had spent hours carefully crafting his uni schedule to make sure he would never have to be awake before 10am. It was one of his favourite things about university and he wasn’t going to pass the opportunity to sleep in, especially when his days so often stretched well into the night. Despite all of that, there was one thing Robbe hated even more than waking up before 10am : saying no to his friends. That’s why when Yasmina had stopped him after their biology lecture last friday, looking preoccupied, he had been ready to do anything to help her. 

She’d explained that she’d signed up for the ‘Welcoming Committee’ (another one of Amber’s genius ideas), which aims to welcome new students who transferred to the university outside of the usual fall term. She was meant to welcome a new student transferring the following monday, but she’d accidentally double-booked her morning with a debate-club meeting. Apparently, everyone else was ‘busy’ (or unwilling to wake up early on a monday, if you asked Robbe) and Yasmina couldn’t bring herself to ask Amber, who would have been disappointed in her. So, that left Robbe, apparently.

He really did not want to have to welcome this random student into the school at all, especially on a monday at 8am, but Yasmina had seemed so desperate and, well, Robbe didn’t have the heart to say no.

So, that’s how he found himself waking up at 7am, groaning at the sound of his alarm before subsequently snoozing until he was almost late. Hurrying up, he picked up the first clothes he found on his floor, smelled them quickly to make sure they were clean and threw them on in a hurry before grabbing his bag and quite literally flying out of the door. 

The good thing about living in student housing, besides the free booze and the lack of parents, was that the dorm building was barely a five minute bike ride away from the university, so Robbe managed to get there in time to grab himself a coffee. He hesitated for a bit in front of the little coffee shop sitting at the corner of the library, wondering if he should also buy the new student a coffee. He had absolutely no idea who the student would be, or even if he liked coffee, so he decided against it and quickly ordered the same black coffee he always drank before making his way to the front hall, where he was supposed to be meeting this person. 

  
Once he actually got there though, Robbe was hit with a wave of anxiety. He was far from antisocial, it’s just that he preferred to stick to his very curated group of friends he’d made back in high school. So, he wasn’t the most comfortable at, well… meeting new people. He was suddenly hyper-aware of his rumpled clothes, unbrushed hair and deep blue dark circles. He tried to brush through his hair in a failed attempt to tame it, before sighing to himself. Who cared if he looked like he just got out of bed, it was 8am after all. Besides, it wasn’t like he was ever going to see that person again. So, really, it didn’t matter.

He leaned his back on the wall behind him, looking at his phone. He still had two whole minutes before the other student would arrive, if he was on time. Robbe really hoped he would be, because he was pretty sure he could get this over with quickly enough to take a nap before his noon class. Closing his eyes. Robbe decided he could allow himself to doze off a little in the meantime, resting his head back and letting his thoughts wander. 

Robbe hadn’t realized he’d almost managed to fall asleep against the wall until he heard someone cough right next to him. Startled, he jumped and barely managed to refrain from letting out a scream.

He opened his eyes widely, looking around for the source of the noise. 

He found his answer quickly enough, as the halls were almost entirely empty and that a certain bleached haired boy was standing right next to him, looking amused.

“Had a good nap?” The stranger teased, clearly proud of his joke, as he was now smirking up at Robbe, leaning on the wall with his left side.

  
Robbe turned on his right side to properly face him, trying to look as unimpressed as possible.

“You ready?” Robbe said, keeping his voice as neutral as possible. That didn’t seem to do anything to discourage the other man, who’s smirk turned into an actual smile.

He nodded enthusiastically and exclaimed “Lead the way!” in a joyful tone. ‘ _ Seriously, who’s this energetic at eight in the morning?’  _ Robbe thought, somewhere between admiration and dread.

Robbe shook his head. _ Doesn’t matter, just get this shit over with, _ he scolded himself, putting his curiosity aside.

He started to detach himself from the wall when he felt the guy’s hand wrap around his bicep. Confused, he stopped dead in his track, turning to the blonde with a questioning look in his eyes. 

“What?” Robbe asked, shaking his arm out of the grip, wondering what he’d possibly done wrong.

The other man’s eyebrows creased in equal confusion, before he seemed to come to some sort of realization. 

“Oh, they didn’t tell you?” He said, cryptically.

Robbe’s confusion only intensified, as he slowly let out a “no…?” that sounded more like a question than an affirmation.

The other boy sighed, clearly annoyed about this situation. Robbe was simply left staring at him, waiting for some sort of an explanation.

The guy cleared his throat, shifting from one foot to the other in clear incomfort. 

“I’m… blind” He said, resigned. 

It took a few seconds for Robbe to properly compute the information, but once he did, he felt a wave of embarrassment rush to his cheeks.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know” Robbe blurted out, feeling awful about the way he’d reacted to the guy’s touch. 

The blonde just laughed, waving Robbe off. “It’s okay, you didn’t know. I’m not offended. It’s cute that you got so flustered though.”

Robbe wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to that so he just let out an awkward chuckle. 

“Alright, well, hm, you can use my arm if you need to, erhm…?” 

The other man caught on immediately, raising his hand to Robbe’s bicep again.

“Sander. I’m Sander.”

Robbe nodded, before mentally slapping himself when he remembered there was no way Sander could see that movement. 

“Nice to meet you! I’m-” Robbe started.

“Robbe. I know” Sander completed, nonchalant. 

That made about a thousand questions pop up in Robbe’s mind, but before he had time to voice any of them, Sander beat him to it.

“It was in the email I received with the meeting infos. It was such a beautiful name that I couldn’t forget it.”

Robbe didn’t quite understand what was so special about his name, considering that it was pretty common and far from that interesting. He didn’t dare to question Sander further though, as each of his answers only brought more questions to Robbe’s brain.

  
  


“I see. If you’re ready, we can start.” Robbe said quickly, trying to change the subject back into known territory. Sander nodded. “Alright. Follow me?” 

“Anywhere” Sander added, throwing a wink at Robbe. Or, well, in the general direction Robbe was in, so he assumed Sander had aimed for him.

That made him chuckle, shaking his head while he started to lead the way down the hall, describing everything at length. 

\-------------------------------------------------

After about an hour of wandering and explaining, the pair ended up holed up in the library, sitting at an empty table at the back, hidden behind the documentary section. 

They were pretty much alone at this hour anyway, most people either being in class or still in bed, so they could talk without worrying about disrupting someone.

As they’d gone about the tour, the two boys discovered that they had a lot in common. A lot more than Robbe would have thought at the beginning.

Now, Robbe wasn’t one to judge solely based on someone’s appearance, but with his bleached blond hair, nose piercing and combat combat boots, Sander looked like your typical alternative artsy kid. Robbe, on the other hand, was always dressed in loose fitting jeans and shirts one size too big, his hair still sleep tousled and his shoes absolutely unremarkable. 

He didn’t purposefully try to fit in the way he did, to dress so bland, but he just didn’t care enough to try anything else. He also thinks he’d lack the confidence, if he was to ever dabble in fashion. 

All of that to say that, if Robbe had met Sander under different circumstances, he would have never even approached him. His whole aura screamed confidence and Robbe had to admit it was quite intimidating at first.

But, truly only at first, because the more they talked, the more Robbe realized he was much more of a dork than anything else.

Once they reached lull in the conversation, Robbe offered to go buy Sander a coffee, as he needed a refill himself. Sander insisted to pay, but Robbe left before he could even reach his wallet. Robbe barely heard the other man sigh in defeat before he’d reached the café’s counter.

While waiting for their order, Robbe turned back and let himself look at Sander. He hadn’t really had the chance to just observe him and, well, since there was no way Sander would catch him staring… Let’s just say Robbe used that to his advantage.

He didn’t know what it was about this guy that captivated Robbe’s attention like that, but once he’d locked his gaze on him, he felt like he could never look away. He could spend hours tracing every curve and every crevice on his face with his eyes, a part of him wanting, no,  _ craving, _ to know every little detail about the blonde. 

While that did confuse Robbe, he figured it must have been a mix of his unorthodox style and his blindness, which led Robbe to be more curious than he probably should be. He had thousands of questions he wished to ask him, but he did have enough self-restraint to refrain from doing so.

He’d been so deep in thought, admiring Sander from afar, that he didn’t hear the barista calling his order until she cleared her throat a few times in a row, clearly annoyed at Robbe’s distracted self.

“Oh, sorry. Thanks” Robbe said quickly, speeding away from the counter under the barista’s disapproving eye. 

He made sure to let his feet scrape the floor once he got close to the table so Sander could be warned of his presence. As soon as Robbe sat down, he was met with Sander’s bright smile.

He handed him his coffee, feeling a strange kind of pride at Sander’s hushed ‘thank you’.

He waited for Sander to try his coffee, feeling like he needed his approval on his coffee taste for some reason. Sander slowly raised the cup to his lips, tilting it slightly towards himself and taking a first gulp.

He took his time, putting his cup down and throwing his head back on the chair. Confused, Robbe was about to ask if he was okay when Sander let out a sound that was a little too close to a moan for Robbe’s liking.

The literal somersault his heart did when he heard it, though, that was even more worrying.

Sander’s throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed the coffee and Robbe suddenly felt warm all over. 

His cheeks heated up in embarrassment and he quickly took his jacket off, worried he’d start to sweat soon. 

Sander readjusted himself back into a regular sitting position, a more private, satisfied smile dancing on his lips, as if he’d achieved some personal goal. 

“That. Was. SO. Good.” Sander started, pointing his index finger in Robbe’s direction. “You have just changed my life forever, Robin”

Robbe blushed even harder at the nickname. He tried to pull himself back together, confused as to why his body was acting so weird all of a sudden. 

The only explanation he could see was that he was still a lot more intimidated by Sander than he’d first thought.

That hypothesis was confirmed with the way the next thing Sander said made Robbe’s inside lit up instantly.

“Give me your number”

Robbe’s mind went completely blank for a few seconds, unable to register the demand. His phone number? Why? Why did Sander need that? 

He must have been too slow to respond, because Sander shifted awkwardly before adding, “Robbe?”

Robbe’s thoughts thankfully started flowing back to his brain after that, allowing him to not act like a complete fool.

“Oh! Yeah, erhm, do you have a phone or…?” 

Sander snorted, reaching for his back pocket.

“No, Robbe, I asked for your number so I could send you faxes. Of course I have a phone.”

They exchanged numbers and Robbe learned that Sander’s phone had a specific function where it would read whatever was on the screen out loud to him. 

After Robbe’s weird brain malfunction, he did manage to recover and they fell back into an easy conversation. Sander showed him some bands and artists he was a fan of, and they spent a few hours talking about everything and nothing, sharing headphones as the library slowly filled up.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Once it came time for Robbe to leave so he could make it to his 1pm class, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He’d never thought that he would enjoy the blonde’s company this much, but now he wished he never had to leave. 

He had never in his life warmed up to someone so quickly. There was something about Sander that just seemed to pull him in, and Robbe wasn’t going to resist something that felt so good. Besides, wasn’t college supposed to be a great place to make new friends?

As they said their goodbyes, Robbe went for a side-hug with a clap on the back like the broerrrs and him usually did, but Sander clearly thought differently. 

Robbe ended up engulfed into an actual hug, Sander’s arms tight and secure around Robbe’s back, his bleached hair tickling his neck where Sander’s face was resting.

Taken aback, Robbe hesitantly raised his arms, circling them around Sander. They stayed like this for a few seconds, Robbe waiting for Sander to break it off.

When he did, Robbe felt a relief at the end of the unfamiliar situation, but he was surprised to realize he immediately missed the comfort of Sander’s arms.

_ Don’t be weird _ , he chastised himself.  _ He’s blind, for fuck’s sakes, of course he’s gonna be touchier than the average guy. _

Sander’s arm lingered on Robbe, slowly trailing down his arm before dropping down to Sander’s sides. 

“Have a good day Robin” Sander said, leaving on his own without even so much as bumping into anything or anyone.

Robbe was so impressed that he didn’t think to correct Sander on his name.

He shook his head to try and right himself and left for his class, hoping it would change his mind.

\------------------------------------

It didn’t. Instead, he spent the entire class thinking about every single one of Sander’s mannerisms, from the way his nose would scrunch up when he snorted, to the way he would brush his hand through his hair at least once every ten minutes. All of these things would normally annoy Robbe, but for some reason, he found himself endeared when Sander did them.

This obsession was starting to worry Robbe a little, as he didn’t want to come off too strongly. That’s why he didn’t text Sander and had resigned himself to try to keep his distance a little until the… situation… would go away. 

That plan, however, was immediately annihilated, as Robbe was barely out of his first class when his phone beeped.

**Sander**

Hey Robin ;)

Another text immediately followed the first one.

**Sander**

Want to grab coffee tomorrow? I don’t have class before noon and I could use the company haha

\--------------------------------------------

Grabbing coffee before class soon became a regular thing between them. Sander had been here for just about two weeks, but Robbe felt like he’d known him forever.

The conversation still flew just as easily between them, and even the silences didn’t feel awkward anymore. In fact, it was so enjoyable to hang out with Sander that Robbe didn’t even mind having to wake up a few hours earlier now, just so he could spend most of his mornings with him. 

The spot they’d sat at in the library on the first day soon became _ their place _ .

They’d meet there every morning or so and Robbe would bring Sander a coffee. In exchange, Sander would introduce Robbe to a new song or a new artist and provide him with mind blowing life facts about all of them.

“Sorry, this is probably really boring to you.” Sander said, sheepishly, after a five minutes rant about the life of the lead singer of Pink Floyd. 

Robbe quickly disagreed. “No, no, this is actually really interesting. I don’t know how you manage to remember all of that though.”

Sander smiled softly before shrugging. “It’s my thing, I guess.”

Robbe laughed, before demanding more fun facts. The smile Sander gave him was so big that Robbe worried he would pull a muscle.

As Sander was listing the band’s best albums, Robbe’s phone pinged on the table. He excused himself and reached for it, worried it might be his mama.

It was only the group chat, planning some get-together (see, party) that night.

**Broerrrs**

**Moyo**

Wassup bros, what’s happening tonight

**Jens**

I’m not sure, haven’t heard anything.

**Aaron**

Nope, radio silence

**Moyo**

Fuck it, let’s throw a party ourselves.

Robbe, can you host?

**Robbe**

I don’t know, I’m sorta busy…

**Moyo**

You’re always busy lately wtf

**Jens**

He’s ditching us for his new cooler friend

**Moyo**

Ahhh you mean the blind dude

**Robbe**

I’m not ‘ditching’ you, okay.

And don’t call him that. His name is Sander.

**Jens**

Well, Milan said yes, so.

You might as well come since it’ll be in your flat

**Robbe**

K.

But I’m bringing Sander

Don’t be weird about him.

**Moyo**

Of course you are, lover boy

Robbe raised his head back to Sander, shutting his phone off. Sometimes, his friends really knew how to piss him off. Maybe with Sander there, he wouldn’t have to pretend to have fun talking about boob sizes and drinking shitty vodka in the bathroom. 

“Hey, Sander?” Robbe started, voice unsure.

Sander raised one eyebrow, letting Robbe know he was listening. That was a thing Robbe had noticed about Sander. Sometimes, he could speak for an hour uninterrupted about a subject that he was passionate about, but some other times, he would use his body language to communicate rather than words.

“So, ehrm, I’m sort of throwing a party tonight, or well my friends are throwing a party at my place i guess… And, ehrm, I was wondering if you might maybe want to come by.” Robbe said, quickly adding, “If you’re not busy of course.”

Sander stayed silent, considering the offer for a bit.

“You want me to meet your friends?” He finally asked, some emotion in his voice that Robbe couldn’t quite place.

Robbe hesitated, eventually settling on the truth.

“Erhm, well, yeah? I mean, it’s always really boring, so I figured if you came…” He trailed off.

Sander smirked. “We could be bored together?”

Robbe laughed, glad he didn’t actually have to finish that sentence. 

“Yeah, exactly that.”

Sander’s face softened and he reached his hand out to place it over Robbe’s.

That was another thing about Sander. He was really into physical touch. More so than anyone Robbe had ever met, but then again it made sense, since he couldn’t see, his hands probably acted as his eyes, discovering the world one touch at a time.

Robbe thought he’d have a harder time adjusting to the touches, but he found himself enjoying them even, relaxing under his touches. 

Sander started tracing small circles on the back of Robbe’s hand with his thumb, smiling to himself. 

“Robin, it would be my pleasure to rescue you from your own party” Sander said cheekily, squeezing his hand one last time before leaning back in his chair. 

Sander was still smiling to himself, privately, and despite his curiosity, Robbe didn’t have the heart to ask him about it.

\---------------------------------------

Once Robbe reached his apartment, he practically threw his bag on the floor, running to his bedroom. Usually, Robbe didn’t mind living messily, as he always managed to find what he needed after lifting a few piles of dirty clothes or kicking away a magazine or two. 

Even when he had friends over, he never really made an effort to clean his room. Sure, he might bring some dirty plates back to the kitchen or kick a few underwears under his bed, but none of the broerrrs were particularly organized themselves, so they didn’t care.

For some reason though, this time, the state of his room really mattered to him. He made multiple trips from his room to the kitchen, bringing plates and cups back to the sink and discarding some random trash in the bin. 

He then moved onto the clothes pilling up on his floor. He threw them under his bed, his closet already so messy that piles of jeans would fall down on him if he opened the doors.

He even took the time to sweep the floors hastily and to spray some air diffuser that made his room smell of lavender.

Now that his room was relatively clean, at least in appearance, he tried to make himself look presentable.

He didn’t know why he cared so much, but it was the first time Sander would be coming over, so he wanted to make a good impression. 

He gave up after about half an hour of rummaging through his clothes, finding nothing more than sweaters and worn-out t-shirts.

He knocked harshly on Milan’s door, throwing him a look of desperation once he opened the door.

“What kind of emergency is this? Love? Family?” Milan immediately said, always ready to problem-solve.

Robbe shook his head gravely. “Even worse : Fashion”.

Milan shook his head and pushed Robbe in. 

“I’ve got you”

Another thirty minutes later, Robbe was dressed in a nice black shirt that Milan had insisted to tuck into his jeans because that’s what was ‘in’ right now. Milan had even styled his hair, although it was a little too long to really be able to do anything with it. It was pushed back a little, held in place by god knows how many cans of spray. 

His work done, Milan held Robbe’s face in his hands, turning it left and right to admire his job.

“Perfect. You’ll woo all the ladies” Milan said, jokingly, before leaving to go help Zoë in the kitchen.

Robbe didn’t quite understand why that sentence made his heart tighten painfully, but he had to cough a few times for the pain to pass, massaging his thorax on his way to the kitchen.

He worked on laying drinks and cups on the table, silently thanking Milan for buying them all of the harder alcohol they usually had to get at sketchy corner stores. The drinks they had tonight might even taste good.

Robbe sank down on the couch, listening to one of Sander’s infinite playlists while waiting for the first guests to arrive. Around him, Zoë, Milan and even Senne were running around the flat, trying to make sure everything was perfect.

Closing his eyes, Robbe basked in the last moment of peace he would have for the next hours, the only thing keeping him going being the fact that Sander said he would show up to the party. 

\--------------------------------------

Two hours later and the party was in full swing.

There were so many people in the flat, most of which Robbe had never met before in his life. He had to squeeze himself past groups of increasingly drunker people to reach the kitchen, where his friends were smoking. 

He finally managed to enter the room, but not before some girl dancing with a little too much enthusiasm managed to knock her drink into him, the liquid soaking through his -- well, Milan’s -- shirt. Robbe cursed to himself, hoping the darkness of the material would hide the stain a minimum.

In the kitchen, he was welcomed by already completely out of it broerrrs, who each greeted him quickly before handing him the joint. 

Leaning his back on the counter, he took a slow inhale, letting the smoke fill his lungs. He closed his eyes as he exhaled, immediately feeling relaxed at the familiar sensation. He tried to tune into his friends’ conversation, but quickly gave up after realizing it was about some girl from the student union’s apparently ‘massive tits’. 

Even Aaron didn’t have the decency not to contribute to the conversation, despite the fact that he was in a relationship with one of Jana’s friends. 

He wondered what she’d say if she could hear him right now. She’d probably be really pissed and make Aaron post some sappy instagram story as revenge. The thought alone made Robbe giggle to himself.

“Yo, Robbe, where’s your boyfriend?” Moyo shouted, bringing him out of his own thoughts.

“What?” Robbe answered, confused.

Jens laughed, clasping Moyo’s back.

“He means Sander.”

“Yeah, wasn’t he supposed to come today? I thought that was the only reason you didn’t bitch about the party.” Moyo added, a hint of curiosity hidden behind his joking smile.

Robbe shrugged. “How would I know? I’m not his fucking mom”

The boys let out various screams of surprise, not used to Robbe talking back to them. He usually tried to be diplomatic, but he was tired and pissed and, yeah, where the fuck was Sander?

Moyo was the first to recover, throwing a ‘damn sounds like someone’s got their period’ his way, before resuming his previous conversation with the boys.

Robbe sighed, rubbing his face harshly. He let go of the joint, opting instead for the beers on the counter. He sipped his slowly, trying to drown out the conversations happening around him by concentrating on the music, but even the songs were absolute trash. 

Thinking about music inevitably led him to thinking about Sander, which only infuriated Robbe even more. How hard was it to just let him know he wasn’t coming? No, instead, Robbe had to get his hopes up and wait for him all night being bored out of his mind.

Which, fair, Robbe knew that Sander didn’t owe him anything and that it wasn’t exactly his fault if Robbe was bored at his own party, but still. Robbe was disappointed and determined to drink his sorrow away.

He finished his beer quickly, reaching for a second one. Before he could open it though, someone hugged him from behind, making him jump and lose his grip on the bottle.

The beer fell out of his hand and shattered on the ground, small pieces scattering all across the kitchen. 

The boys let out surprised squeaks, moving out of the way of the tiny glass projectiles. 

Robbe whipped around, ready to go off on whoever had attacked him like that, but he stopped in his tracks as he saw who it was.

Sander was standing in front of him, smiling brightly, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened.

Sensing that Robbe had turned around, Sander took a step forward, hugging him properly this time.

“Hi! Did I surprise you?” Sander asked, speaking directly into Robbe’s ear, still not letting go of him.

Robbe slowly extirpated himself from the blonde’s grip, throwing a worried glance over to his friends.

They were all silent, observing Sander as if he was a circus animal.

Robbe saw Sander’s confusion at his abrupt ending of the hug and quickly tried to reassure him. 

“Hey! I’m glad you managed to come. Ehrm, I accidentally made a beer bottle fall on the ground, so just let me pick that up, okay? Don’t move.” Robbe didn’t even wait for an answer before he disappeared to get the broom. When he came back, the broerrrs were still silently looking at Sander, sending each other meaningful looks. Sander was clearly uncomfortable, shifting his weight on his feet and twisting his fingers in his hair.

Robbe swept every piece he could find and discarded them, before returning the broom to its closet. 

Once he was back, he found the Broerrrs introducing themselves to Sander, Aaron’s mouth open so wide that Robbe got worried he was having a medical emergency. After the awkward introductions, the broerrrs resumed their conversation.

Robbe used the opportunity to slide beside Sander on the counter, bumping his shoulder softly.

“So… You came” Robbe started, trying not to sound as relieved as he truly felt.

Sander turned his head towards him, smiling. 

“I came. Did you think I would miss a chance to hang out with you?” 

Robbe blushed, once again really grateful that Sander couldn’t notice that. 

They fell into an easy conversation together, like they always did. Sander’s hand was trailing up and down Robbe’s arm as he talked, punctuating his words with little squeezes. 

Robbe was smiling and laughing so hard that his cheeks hurt, but he didn’t care. Sander seemed to be enjoying himself just as much, and that only made Robbe want to smile even harder. 

Sander was telling him about a childhood story involving his pet rabbit, raising both of his hands to Robbe’s hair, threading through it mindlessly. 

They were stuck in their own bubble, until Robbe heard Moyo catcalling them.

“Well, damn, Robbe. Didn’t know you’d actually gotten yourself a boyfriend.”

Robbe immediately jerked away from Sander, without missing how the boy’s face fell at the move.

“Shut up Moyo” Robbe said, but his voice sounded more anxious than angry.

Moyo just laughed. “Oh come on Robbe, it’s just jokes. No need to get your panties in a twist.”

Robbe took a step towards Moyo, getting ready to argue, but Sander’s arm came to block his way.

Slowly, Sander walked up to Moyo.

“You’re Moyo, right?” He said, his voice sounding a thousand times more assured than Robbe’s had.

Moyo laughed awkwardly this time, squeaking more than speaking a ‘yeah’.

Sander gave him a tight, clearly forced smile and cocked his head to the side.

“I see. So you’re a homophobe?”   
  


Everyone, including Robbe, frowned at that, confused. Moyo visibly paled, losing some of his previous confidence.

“What the fuck?” He chuckled. “No?”

Sander tsked him, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“Making jokes about people's sexuality like that, you think that’s funny? You think that makes you look tough, or what?” Sander said, his voice sounding more angry now.

Moyo clearly had enough of him, because he raised himself up from the counter, clearly pissed off as well.

Robbe decided to interrupt the fight before anything could really start.

“Come on, Sander, it’s not that deep. It doesn’t matter.”

Sander turned around towards Robbe, looking hurt that he didn’t take his side, but moved away and towards the crowd. 

Robbe chased after him, finally taking a hold of his arm in the living room.

“Sander, please.” Robbe knew he sounded desperate, but he didn’t want Sander to think he hadn't appreciated his gesture. 

Sander stopped, but didn’t turn around to face him.

“I’m sorry, okay? Thank you for defending me, really, and of course you’re right.” Robbe said, taking a deep breath to steel himself. “I just really didn’t want this to end up in a fight.”

Sander’s resolve seemed to fade a little, his shoulders dropping slightly. He turned towards Robbe, giving no indication of his feelings.

“I didn’t want you to get hurt because of me, okay? I’m sorry.” 

At that, Sander let a small smile crack through the surface, letting out a small ‘Robbe’ that did things to Robbe’s brain he wasn’t going to analyze at the moment.

Sander stepped towards him, holding his hands out for Robbe to take, which he did without a second of hesitation.

“Can we go to your room? It’s a bit much here… With all the sound and everything.” Sander asked, smiling softly, seemingly back to his good mood from earlier in an instant.

  
  


Robbe couldn’t help but smile too. “Yeah, of course. Come.”

\--------------------------------------------

  
Robbe had made sure to lock his bedroom door before the party started. He’d learned his lesson the hard way, as he’d once found a couple going at it on his own bed during a previous party. 

He unlocked it, letting Sander step in first. He closed it behind them, turning towards Sander.

“So… What do you want to do?” Robbe asked.

Sander looked towards him, a mischievous smile taking place on his face. He looked around in his pocket for a bit before producing a joint.

Robbe smiled and opened his bedroom’s window. He came back towards Sander and they both sat closely on the bed, sharing the joint.

They were mostly silent, just enjoying the moment. Robbe felt relaxed, and not only because of the weed, but because of Sander. Somehow, there was something about him that made Robbe feel at ease and like he could truly be himself without being judged. 

The joint discarded in an old water bottle, they opted to lay down, facing each other. 

Sander kept shifting around, huffing and puffing.

“Are you okay?” Robbe asked, mildly worried.

Sander sighed, smiling.

“Erhm, yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Sander said.

Robbe waited, unconvinced. “You sure?”

This time, Sander propped himself up on his elbow, putting a little bit more distance between them. Robbe narrowed his eyes, now genuinely concerned.

“I have a weird request.” Sander said, quickly, all at once. “And feel free to say no if you’re not comfortable, ok?”

Robbe raised himself up too, agreeing rapidly and urging him to continue.

“Can I… feel your face?” Sander asked. “Like, you know how you can just, well, see me? This is sort of the way I see people. With my hands.”

Robbe felt an unknown emotion flare up in his chest, making him tear up all of a sudden.

“Sander…” He whispered, feeling like a loud noise would break the moment. “Of course you can. Of course.”

Sander gave him a fond smile, thanking him silently. He laid back on his side, Robbe imitating him.

Slowly, but surely, Sander’s fingers found his face, trailing leisurely down every millimeter of skin. 

Sander was going extremely slowly and delicately, almost as if he was afraid that if he went too fast, Robbe’s face might disappear.

Robbe closed his eyes, enjoying the soft touches. Every bit of skin that Sander had touched prickled, as if electricity was passing through them. It felt so incredibly intimate, yet so simple, so easy. 

Sander’s fingers trailed down his jaw now, starting to make their way to Robbe’s throat. He knew this wasn’t technically part of his face, but Robbe was so comfortable, melting against the covers, that he just let him keep going. 

Sander’s voice resonates in his ear, a small, hushed ‘That’s chill?’, to which Robbe answered in an equal tone ‘That’s chill.’

Robbe had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been minutes, hours, days even. It simply felt like time had stopped entirely. 

He felt so relaxed under Sander’s touches that he was almost falling asleep, trying to concentrate on the vibrations emanating from Sander’s fingers that he could feel all the way to his bones. 

Suddenly, Robbe could feel Sander’s breath near his face.

“Robbe?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“Robbe! Here you are!”, Robbe heard as the door flew open.

The two of them jumped apart, startled by the disruption. Robbe opened his eyes, now more awake than ever before.

“Hey, Noor. I thought you didn’t like these parties.” Robbe said, getting up from the bed clumsily. 

He could feel Sander’s questioning gaze burning a hole through his scalp, but he remained silent.

“Well, I really don’t, but I figured I could make an exception for my boyfriend!” Noor said, excitedly, before throwing herself at Robbe’s lips. 

Sander got up abruptly, making Noor remember his presence.

“Oh! Didn’t see you there. Robbe, don’t be rude. Introduce us!” She said, smiling, still oblivious to the sudden tension that filled the room.

Robbe hesitated, shifting his gaze from Sander to Noor, then back to Sander.

“Oh, ehrm, he’s, well…” Robbe began, only to be interrupted.

“Leaving. He’s leaving.” Sander said, exiting the room without so much as a look back.

Noor looked confused and Robbe didn’t feel like dealing with a million questions, so he did what he did best : he distracted her.

\--------------------------------

Later that night, as Noor was laying next to him in bed, fast asleep, Robbe couldn’t manage to close his eyes, haunted by Sander’s betrayed expression.

He didn’t understand why Sander had been so mad, but all he knew is that he felt like he’d do anything to make Sander happy again.

Turning to his bedside table, he grabbed his phone and opened his text conversation with Sander. He hesitated as he typed, but quickly sent it before he could regret it. 

**Robbe**

Hey, Sander. You left pretty fast tonight.

I’m sorry if I said or did something to piss you off?

Have a goodnight.

The message was delivered, then read almost immediately, but even an hour later, as Robbe helplessly stared at his screen, he received absolutely no response. 


	2. "I can tell"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On Monday morning, Robbe woke up bright and early, with a newfound motivation stirring in him. He was going to win Sander back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hello, loves!! Here it is, enjoy! Please scream at me in the comments I love them!

The rest of the weekend passed in a blur. Between trying to get through his never-ending pile of homework and carefully avoiding his roommates, Robbe didn’t have a lot of time to worry about Sander’s absence. 

That’s not to say he didn’t spend all of his free time thinking about him though. From the second he’d wake up to the moment he’d fall asleep, Sander was constantly on his mind, sometimes going as far as to haunt him in his dreams. 

When Robbe started to feel like it was becoming an unhealthy obsession, he reassured himself easily. He wasn’t obsessed with Sander, far from that, he was just worried he’d hurt him. Robbe always tried to do right by everyone and the thought that he could have accidentally hurt Sander was definitely what was eating him alive. 

So, he had to do something to get Sander to forgive him, that much was obvious. He knew Sander liked grand gestures, by his own admission. The problem was that Robbe absolutely sucked at that kind of stuff. His idea of a grand gesture was when Noor would get him take-out on her way to his apartment and something told him that wasn’t quite what Sander envisioned. 

He considered asking Noor, – weren’t girls supposed to be better at that kind of stuff anyway? – but he figured asking his own girlfriend for advice on how to win a guy back was probably not the best idea, even if it was only in a friendly way. She just wouldn’t get it. 

That’s where Milan came in. Most days, Milan kind of got on Robbe’s nerves. He was always just a touch too loud and too eccentric for his own good, which never failed to aggravate Robbe. But if there was one thing Milan excelled at, it was advice. He was always able to coax Robbe into telling him what weighed on his mind and he seemed genuinely interested in Robbe’s rather boring problems. 

Over time, Milan had grown to become his confidant, even if Robbe would never admit that to anyone. He could tell him everything and anything without ever feeling judged and that was truly the best feeling in the world. In exchange, though, Robbe did have to suffer through Milan’s love tirades about his unsuccessful relationships, but it was a torture worth enduring. 

This time, though, Milan only managed to piss Robbe off. 

The first thing he said after Robbe explained the situation was, “Does Noor know about this?”. 

Robbe scrunched up his face in confusion. “No? Why would she need to know about this?”

Milan sighed fondly, like he knew something Robbe didn’t. That made him mad.

“Robbe, does she even know who Sander is?” Milan said, a slight smile dancing on his lips.

Robbe didn’t understand why that mattered. Noor probably had friends Robbe didn’t know about and he wasn’t going to make it a big deal, so why couldn’t he? What did Noor have to do with Sander and him?

“Sort of. Why does it matter anyway? I’m talking about Sander right now, not Noor.” Robbe answered, trying to hide the anger he felt, but failing miserably, as Milan’s smile automatically dropped.

“If you say so,” Milan said, sounding more defeated than anything else.

Sensing that the conversation wasn’t going where he wanted it to, at all, Robbe steered it back to the actual matter at hand.

“So. Sander. How do I get him to forgive me?” Robbe asked, throwing Milan a look that clearly said he was done talking about Noor.

That seemed to reanimate Milan who clapped his hands enthusiastically. 

“Just tell him what you told me Robbe! That you don’t know what you’ve done wrong, that you didn’t mean to hurt him and that you want to fix things.” Milan said, as if it was the obvious answer.

“Just like that?” Robbe answered, skeptical. He felt like it wasn’t enough to just talk to Sander, like he needed to do something big and memorable so that Sander would have no choice but to forgive him.

Robbe didn’t know what it was about Sander that was so different, that made him want to try so hard. He’d never put that much effort, or any effort for that matter, in his other relationships. If one of the broerrrs were mad at him, he’d just ignore them until they came around. Even when Noor was pissed off, the most he’d do was say sorry and move on.

But Sander… He couldn’t bear to lose Sander. Just knowing he’d hurt him somehow was enough to make him overwhelmed with guilt and worry. 

“Yeah, Robbe. Just be honest, I’m sure that’s all Sander wants.” Milan said, patting Robbe on the head before leaving the room.

Shaking his hair back to its usual mess, Robbe let himself fall backwards on his bed. Honesty. Alright, he could do that.

\-----------------------------

On Monday morning, Robbe woke up bright and early, with a newfound motivation stirring in him. He was going to win Sander back.

Or, well, once he could figure out which shirt to wear. Robbe was used to throwing on the first thing he could find without giving it a second thought, but this morning, he was stuck, again. _ Sander couldn’t care less what shirt I wear _ , he told himself, frustrated with how much time he was wasting staring at his closet. He still went for the fuzzy orange sweater he knew Sander liked – liked being a euphemism, as Sander would spend a whole five minutes complimenting him every time he wore it, stroking the soft material with his fingers. Sander would call him beautiful, to which Robbe would always argue that Sander literally had no way of knowing if he was beautiful or not. “I can tell”, Sander would answer and Robbe would be rendered speechless every time.

This time, though, Robbe intended to be the one to surprise Sander. 

He rushed to his bike, skipping breakfast in his hurry. He pedaled so fast that he felt his legs burning in the few minutes it took him to get to the uni campus. He got off his bike, fumbling with the lock for a few precious seconds, before taking off towards the entrance. He went straight to the admission’s office, barely managing to avoid the students walking in the other direction. 

He got there in one piece, somehow, and had to refrain from throwing himself at the lady working the counter. 

“Hello there young man, what can I do for you today?” She asked, pushing her glasses back up on her nose, smiling softly at him.

Robbe tried to catch his breath for a second, leaning on the counter with his forearms for support. Once he felt like he could speak without fainting mid-sentence, he tried giving the lady his most charming smile, standing back upright.

“Good morning!” He said, voice forcefully chipper, “I work for the Welcoming Committee and I’m helping a student get to his classes today.” The woman nodded, encouraging him to keep going. “Hm, he lost his schedule? So I’d need to get it printed to bring it to him.”

The woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Why is he not coming to get his schedule himself?”

Robbe swallowed nervously, hiding his slightly shaking hands. He wasn’t proud of what he was about to say, but if it would lead him to Sander, then a morally dubious strategy was fine by him. 

Leaning slightly forward, Robbe lowered his voice, “He’s… blind, ma’am.”

The woman immediately froze, her eyes growing twice their size. She awkwardly stuttered out a series of excuses, turning to her computer hurriedly. Robbe gave her the name of the student and she printed the schedule, handing it to him without meeting his eyes. He thanked her, walking away with a satisfied grin.

Well, that was easy. 

Looking through the schedule, Robbe mentally checked that step off in his head, trying to find a good time to meet Sander. He had a class that was ending in about half an hour, art history, and Robbe had enough time to talk to him before his own class started. 

Hiding the schedule in his backpack, Robbe tried to psych himself up. Robbe’s brain had the tendency to always imagine the worst case scenario in every situation. He couldn’t help but picture Sander getting mad, turning away from him and never talking to him again, and the mere thought of that happening was enough to make Robbe doubt his plan. 

He wasn’t sure he could bear to get rejected face-to-face, but this felt too important to be said over text. Besides, Sander was also ignoring his texts, so the only way Robbe could be sure he’d get to be heard was to say it to Sander, directly. So Robbe knew he had to do this, but it didn’t make it any less hard or terrifying. He hoped Sander would at least tell him what he’d done wrong, even if he refused to forgive him, so he could stop replaying every single word he’d said that night.

Threading his fingers through his hair, Robbe tried to tame the mess his enthusiastic biking had made. Usually, his hair had a mind of its own, refusing to follow Robbe’s directions, but it seemed to take pity on him today, as it bent to his will. He fiddled with the strap of his backpack nervously, looking down at his watch every few seconds as if that would make time go by quicker. 

He had spent hours preparing his speech in his head the night before. He’d never been very good with words, or with expressing his emotions for that matter, so it’d taken him a while to find the right balance between honesty and consideration. He wanted to let Sander know how he felt about him, how much their friendship mattered to him, but he also wanted to make sure he wouldn’t seem too self-absorbed. 

In all honesty, he’d definitely been overthinking it, but he couldn’t help it. Even now, waiting for the thirty minutes to go by, he kept running it in his head, trying to fix mistakes that weren’t there. He ran out of things to change soon enough, taking his headphones out of his bag and sliding them on. He scrolled through his playlists, until his eyes caught sight of the Bowie playlist Sander had made him a while ago. Before he could stop himself, his fingers had already pressed the play button, the distinctive first notes of ‘Under Pressure’ filling his ears instantly. 

The song felt bitter this time, his thoughts wandering back to the hours he’d spent listening to music with Sander, holed up in their corner of the library. He’d only known Sander for a relatively short amount of time, but he’d never felt closer to someone before. The other’s simple presence was enough to calm Robbe’s incessant thoughts, his touch enough to bring him back to the present. Every single word Sander spoke to him was carved somewhere in his mind, kept preciously in his memories. 

Robbe just felt like Sander really  _ cared _ . He cared about Robbe in a way no one had before and Robbe cared about him just as much. That’s what made their friendship so special, so different from others. It’s also why Robbe was hesitant to introduce Sander to his friends or his girlfriend, he kind of wanted to keep Sander to himself. He was worried Sander would realise he really wasn’t that interesting and that he’d hit it off with his friends and leave him.

It was stupid, it was selfish and it might have cost him his friendship with Sander. 

Unable to stall any longer, Robbe pushed his headphones off of his head, taking a deep breath to give himself some courage. In a less than confident step, he headed towards the arts’ department, trying to push his overflowing doubts back down. With every step he took towards Sander’s classroom, he felt less and less confident about his plan. What if Sander didn’t even stop to listen to him? What if Sander wasn’t even there? Was it really room 304?

Once the room came into view, Robbe knew it was too late to turn back. The door was open, and students were starting to pile out, heading in his direction. Robbe craned his neck, trying to spot the familiar head of blonde hair. As expected, he was the last to leave the room, taking his time and walking slowly to make sure he didn’t bump into anyone. Robbe knew Sander hated using a cane, preferring to orient himself with his hands whenever possible. 

Trying hard not to startle him, Robbe took a few steps towards the boy. 

“Hey, Sander?” He started, his voice quivering a little under the weight of the pressure he felt.

Sander jumped a little, bringing his right hand over his heart. He furrowed his brows, seemingly confused.

“Robbe? What are you doing here?”    
  
He didn’t seem mad or particularly distressed, which Robbe took as encouragement to enact the other part of his plan.

“Uh, yeah, I wanted to see you?” He said, sounding more like a question than an affirmation.

Sander raised an eyebrow at that, seemingly taking an interest in the conversation.

“See me?”, The other boy questioned.

Robbe shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, swallowing with difficulty.

“Yeah. I need to talk to you, ehrm, in private.” Robbe could feel his right hand shaking slightly, so he clasped it to his thigh, before remembering Sander couldn’t see it anyways.

Sander seemed more worried than anything else, agreeing to follow Robbe back into the now empty classroom. They sat down face-to-face, Robbe resisting the urge to help Sander find his seat and instead interlocking his own hands in his lap.

Sander looked at him expectantly and Robbe knew he had to talk.

“So, about what happened friday…” Robbe started, interrupting himself when he saw Sander visibly wince at his words.

Sander ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “Look, Robbe, it’s fine, you don’t have to say anything.”

Confused at Sander’s reaction, Robbe forgot all about his speech, letting out a small “What?” instead.

Sander seemed defeated, which was so far from what Robbe had been expecting. He’d been ready to face anger, sadness, even disappointment, but Sander was acting as if he’d been at fault.

“I get it, ok? You don’t have to hang out with me just because I’m new, or whatever. I’ll leave you alone.” Sander said, coughing to hide the unsteadiness in his voice.

Robbe’s mind had stopped functioning by now, rendering him completely speechless. He just stared at Sander with a bewildered look in his eyes, unmoving.

When Sander made a move to get up, Robbe’s arm shot up to bring him back down, his brain finally managing to form a coherent thought.

“What? Leave me alone? Sander, what the fuck are you talking about?” Robbe asked, trying to keep his voice gentle and calm despite the tornado of emotions that was whirling in his head.

Sander turned his head to the side, clearly considering his options. He hesitated for a bit, his teeth worrying his bottom lip as he seemed deep in thought. Finally, he breathed in, steeling himself.

“It’s just that… You never introduced me to any of your friends and then I had to find out you have a girlfriend at your party… I just… I guess I misinterpreted what was going on between us. It’s my fault, I made this into something it’s not. Don’t worry, I get it.” Sander said, shame evident in his tone.

Robbe couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Did Sander really think he’d made up their friendship? That Robbe didn’t care about him or, even worse, only stayed with him by pity? Guilt overtook him, turning his stomach into knots. 

“Sander, what? Of course you didn’t imagine this.” Robbe said, matter of factly.

Sander scrunched up his face in doubt, opening his mouth to argue, only to be quickly interrupted by Robbe.

“I’m not saying this out of pity. I’m also not your friend out of pity, what the fuck? I care about you so much, Sander. I’m sorry I didn’t let you meet everyone before the party, and that I didn’t tell you about Noor…” This time, it was his turn to wince, remembering the more than awkward first meeting. “I guess I just… I’ve never felt like this with anyone before, you know? So, I was selfish and I didn’t want to ruin things by leaving our little bubble. I’m sorry, especially if I let you think I didn’t want you in my life. I do, I really, really do.” 

Robbe didn’t dare look at Sander once he stopped talking, too scared of what emotions he’d find. It’d felt good to let all of this out at the time, but now he was overthinking what he’d said. Was it too much? Did he scare Sander off? Maybe Sander had just been trying to let Robbe down gently and now he’d made everything awkward. Every second seemed to stretch infinitely, as the silence around Robbe turned suffocating.  _ Please say something, anything _ , he kept repeating in his head. Honestly, he’d even take rejection over this agonizing stillness.

  
  


Slowly, he raised his head, little by little, preparing himself for the worst. Once his eyes met Sander’s face, though, Robbe felt a wave of relief wash over him. Sander was smiling. Not just a small, polite smile, no, he was full on grinning, the corners of his eyes crinkling with happiness. Robbe couldn’t hold his joy in any longer, letting out a small chuckle. Sander followed suit and, soon enough, they found themselves laughing like two idiots, alone in an arts classroom.

Robbe couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Sander looked when he laughed. The way his cheeks would rise so high they’d almost meet his bottom eyelashes, the way one of his eyes would always get smaller than the other one or even the way his hair would fall all over his forehead as he bent his head to try and catch his breath, the stark white contrasting with the tanned skin. He felt overwhelmed with the view, his laugh slowly dying down.

“You’re beautiful when you laugh” He let out, only realising what he’d said at Sander’s surprised expression.

A pleased smile eased its way onto the boy’s face, his cheeks growing bright pink.

“Merci” Sander said, his voice coming out soft and shy. “You’re beautiful too.”

Robbe rolled his eyes, momentarily disappointed that Sander couldn’t see the gesture. 

A small smirk growing on his face, Robbe decided to tease Sander. Cocking his head to the side, he sighed, faking exasperation.

“You have no way of knowing that, Sander”

Sander’s smile grew bigger as he caught onto their private joke.  _ You can tell. _

“I can tell.”  _ I knew it. _

They stayed sitting like this for a while, smiling and enjoying each other’s presence.

Robbe’s heart felt light now that everything was in the open. They both wanted this friendship and nothing would come between them now.

\---------------------------------------------------

After that day, it was almost as if they’d never been separated at all. If anything, they were even  _ closer _ than before.

Like right now, as they were laying on Robbe’s bed, their sides pressed together. Sander was humming to some song playing from his phone, his voice low and deep. Usually, Robbe found most noises annoying when he was trying to study, but somehow that didn’t apply to Sander. Most things didn’t seem to apply to Sander when it came to Robbe. 

Robbe shut his physics book close, throwing it carelessly on the ground before groaning into his hands. He heard Sander snort next to him, making him peak at the blonde between his fingers. Sander looked ethereal in the warm light of the afternoon sun, his face illuminated in just the right way, accentuating his best traits. 

Robbe lowered his hands slowly, his right hand coming closer to Sander’s face. He kept it looming over his skin, not quite touching. 

“Can I?” Robbe asked, whispering, his breath hitting the side of Sander’s face. The blonde gave a small nod, smiling softly. 

Robbe lowered his hand a little more, the tip of his index coming in contact with Sander’s soft skin. As soon as he touched his face, Robbe felt Sander’s breath hitch.

He moved his finger, tracing Sander’s features leisurely. He trailed the side of his face, all the way from his jaw to his hairline. When he let his fingers thread through Sander’s hair, pushing it back and away from his forehead, the boy let out a contented sigh, burrowing deeper in the mattress. That made Robbe smile, satisfied that Sander was enjoying this as much as him. 

He kept petting his hair, going down to his face for a bit, before coming back up. He had no idea how long they laid like that, but soon he realised that Sander’s breathing was slowing down, his muscles slack and relaxed. 

Robbe felt too bad to wake him up, so he decided he would let him rest and keep studying in the kitchen. He took his hand away from Sander’s face, bending down to grab his discarded textbook. He was just about to push himself up from the bed when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist. Caught by surprise, he halted his movement, turning around towards Sander’s body. 

He gave no indication that he was awake, except for the hand that was currently holding Robbe’s wrist. 

Under his breath, Sander muttered a small “Stay”, tugging lightly on Robbe’s wrist. Robbe thought about everything he still had to revise, knowing the smart choice would be to get up and go study out of the room. But as he looked at Sander, laying there looking so comfortable and so warm, he quickly concluded that he wouldn’t be able to refuse him. 

So, he took Sander’s hand off his wrist, making Sander give him a small pout, before he laid back down. He maneuvered the covers over the both of them, snuggling closer to Sander to soak in his warmth. He felt Sander move to his left, the boy’s arm coming to lay over his chest. The gesture took Robbe by surprise, his reflexes making him retreat slightly. Sander seemed to notice, slowly taking his arm back, but Robbe grabbed it and draped it back over his body. He turned on his side, facing away from Sander and wrapped himself in the other boy. 

Huddling closer, Sander rested his face against Robbe’s neck, his warm breath hitting him at the nape. Robbe expected this to feel strange or uncomfortable, but it was quite the opposite. He felt safe, calm and serene. 

It wasn’t long before sleepiness took over him as well, his eyes falling shut and his breathing slowing to match Sander’s.

\----------------------------

Robbe could feel something poking annoyingly at his face. He scrunched up his nose, not ready to let go of sleep just yet. When the feeling wouldn’t stop, he raised his hand and tried to swat it away. The only response he got was a small giggle, which made him open his right eye to take a look. He was met with Sander’s smiling face as he continued poking him in the face, oblivious to Robbe’s open eye. When Robbe squirmed after a poke to the nose, Sander let out yet another giggle, making Robbe sigh fondly. 

“Are you having fun?” He asked, trying to sound firm, but failing miserably. 

Sander beamed at him, nodding his head enthusiastically. 

“Oh yeah? And what about now?” Robbe asked, promptly switching them around, taking advantage of Sander’s momentary confusion to start tickling him on his sides. 

Their laughter resonated in the room, Sander trying to extirp himself from under Robbe’s hold. 

Raising both of his hands in surrender, Sander let out a breathy “Okay, okay, I give up”.

Robbe stopped his tickling, resting his hands on Sander’s chest. “Ik win”

Sander agreed, nodding along. “You win”

Robbe was about to add something, when they heard a loud noise coming from outside the room. Sander furrowed his brows in confusion, clearly wondering where the noise was coming from, which gave Robbe an idea.

“Hey, I think my roommates are home. Would you want to, like, properly meet them?” Robbe suggested, knowing it would make Sander happy.

Just as he had expected, Sander’s face lit up instantly. “Really?” He asked, hope filling his voice.

“Yeah, of course. Come” Robbe said, taking one of Sander’s hands in his own and getting up, pulling Sander along. 

Sander followed him dutifully up to the door, but just as Robbe was about to open it, Sander stopped him by pulling at his shirt. Robbe looked back at him and saw how nervous he seemed, his traits serious and strained.

“Sander? Are you okay?” Robbe asked. Sander nodded weakly, still clearly anxious. “We don’t have to go see them if you don’t want to, you know.” 

Sander sighed, shaking his head slightly. “No, no, i want to, but… Do you think they’ll like me?”

He seemed so unsure of himself, his doubts visible all over his face, and it pained Robbe to think that Sander could think of himself as anything short of incredible.

Robbe put both of his hands on Sander’s shoulders, grounding him. “Sander. You could charm anyone with a single smile. Of course they’re gonna love you!”

That got a little smile out of Sander, who seemed to calm down a little. “Yeah, okay. Let’s do this.”

Robbe nodded, “Let’s do this”. 

\------------------------------------

Thirty minutes into meeting Sander, both Milan and Zoë seemed ready to adopt him. They’d been surprised that Robbe bothered to introduce anyone to them at first, but they had rapidly realised it meant a lot to him, so they went along with it. Milan threw question after question at Sander, who tried to answer him as best as he could, while Zoë did her best to hold Milan back.

“So, young man, what are your intentions with our son?” Milan said, pointing an accusing finger towards Sander. Robbe groaned, promising himself he’d never introduce anyone to Milan again. He looked to Zoë for some help, but she just raised her shoulders, laughing.

Sander steeled his expression into a more serious one, his lips pinched and his jaw set. He put one hand over his heart and straightened his back. In a deep, solemn voice, he said, “I promise to only ever have the holiest of intentions towards Robbe and to lay my life to keep him safe from harm’s way.” 

Milan broke into a loud fit of laughter, throwing Robbe a “I like him” once he managed to stop laughing. Robbe was pretty sure his face was bright red from embarrassment at this point, but Sander was smiling proudly and he seemed to be much more comfortable now, so Robbe didn’t complain. 

They stayed sitting together around the kitchen table, laughing and talking for a little longer, until the sun set and they all had to leave. Milan had to work the evening shift at the pub he bartends at and Zoë was meeting her boyfriend somewhere in the city.

As for Robbe, he was supposed to meet Noor for dinner before going to some party along with the Broerrrs. Only, when Sander was putting on his shoes to leave, Robbe found himself unwilling to part ways.

“Hey, would you want to come along tonight? If you’re not busy, that is.” Robbe asked, immediately feeling silly. “You’re probably busy, it’s so last minute, I just had a lot of fun and I figured…”

Sander smirked at him fondly. “Robbe, of course I want to go with you. Are you sure it won’t bother Noor or your friends though?”

Robbe shook his head vehemently. “No, of course not! I’ll text them quickly to let them know, they’ll be excited!”

Sander agreed and they both got dressed silently as Robbe sent a quick text to Noor to let her know he was bringing Sander along. He pocketed his phone, leading Sander out of the apartment and towards the restaurant.

The walk there was mostly quiet, the two boys walking closely, Sander’s right hand holding onto Robbe’s arm, letting him guide the way.

As they neared the restaurant, Robbe leaned closer to Sander. “You’ll see, they have like the best soup ever. You’re never going to be able to enjoy another soup after this.” Robbe said, making Sander snort a laugh. 

He loved making Sander laugh so much. It was probably his favourite thing in the world – right after afternoon naps with Sander, actually.

They entered the restaurant, taking their coats off at the entrance. Robbe looked around, quickly locating Noor sitting at a table for four near the back. He brought them over, making sure Sander didn’t trip over anything. 

“Hey!” Robbe said, greeting Noor with a peck to the lips. He checked his watch and smiled triumphantly. “And I’m not even late!” 

Sander laughed, raising his hand to high-five Robbe in congratulations. Noor didn’t answer, sitting back down. Robbe led Sander to the two place bench, sitting down beside him. When he raised his head, Noor was looking at him, offended.

“What?” He asked, confused.

“Are you not going to sit next to me?” She asked, clearly irritated by Robbe’s seating choice.

Robbe sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. “Noor, are you serious? It’s just a seat, it doesn’t matter. Besides, it’s easier this way for Sander to order and everything.” He tried to keep his tone nonchalant, but he was a little annoyed at her attitude. 

She scoffed, but left it at that. 

Robbe read the options off of the menu for Sander, who ended up letting Robbe choose, insisting he really didn’t mind. Noor kept glaring at Robbe whenever he made Sander laugh, which only made him try harder.

Eventually, a waiter came and took their order. Sander whispered to Robbe that the waiter reminded him of some character from a sitcom they’d begun watching together, making Robbe laugh, coughing to try to cover it up. 

“Could you at least pretend to be interested in me, for fuck’s sakes!” Noor said, her voice loud and angry, making Robbe and Sander’s heads snap towards her.

“What the fuck, Noor?” Robbe said, letting his exasperation show. 

Noor let out a disbelieving laugh. “Are you kidding me? You keep ignoring me and whispering with him like two fucking lovers!”

Robbe slapped both of his hands down, making Sander jump next to him. 

“Maybe if you weren’t always so fucking angry, we could have an actual conversation!” He felt Sander squirm next to him, clearly uncomfortable and that was the last straw for him.

He wasn’t going to sit through this nonsense, and even less if Sander wasn’t comfortable. He got up from his seat, grabbing his wallet. 

“Alright, that’s it. We’re leaving. I’ll go pay and we can talk tomorrow when we’re both calmer.” Robbe turned to Sander, adding “I’ll be right back”, before going off towards the cash registers.

Noor leaned forward towards Sander, observing him. She scoffed again, her voice dripping with disgust and anger when she spoke. 

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, Anders” Noor started, before Sander interrupted her.

“Sander” He said calmly.

“Whatever. If you think Robbe cares about you, you’re wrong. You’re new and interesting now, but soon enough he’ll get bored of you and come back to me. I know your ex, Britt, and I know how fucked up you are. You don’t deserve Robbe.” She spit out the end of the sentence, her anger growing with every word she spoke.

Sander swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice levelled. “What went down between me and Britt is none of your business. It has nothing to do with Robbe”

Noor laughed again, bitterly. “I’m not sure that’s what Robbe would think. Don’t force my hand, Sander, I won’t hesitate to tell him all about your little secret. You won’t get Robbe.”

Sander simply shrugged. “We’ll see about that.”

Noor opened her mouth to reply, but Robbe came back at the same time, effectively shutting her up. He offered Sander his arm and they made their way towards the exit, grabbing their coat on the way. As they stepped outside, Noor let out a frustrated noise, just as a plate of vegetable soup was being dropped off at her table. 

\-------------------------------------------

“I’m so fucking sorry” Robbe said, for the fifth time since they’d left for the party. 

He felt so bad that Sander had to witness the quarrel, knowing how bad he must have felt. 

“Robbe, for the last time, I’m not mad, ok? It was a little awkward, but it’s over. It’s fine” Sander said, trying to reassure Robbe. “Don’t let her ruin our whole night, ok?”

Robbe sighed, knowing Sander was right. He’d said sorry, it was done and he shouldn’t let a small hiccup affect him like that.

“You’re right, sorry. Let’s have fun!” Robbe said, trying to sound cheerful.

Sander shook his head, smiling. “You know you say sorry way too much, right?”

Robbe smiled cheekily, using his most innocent voice to reply. “Oh, do I? Sorry!”

Sander laughed, pushing Robbe playfully, while still holding onto him with his other hand. 

As they neared the party, Robbe instinctively got closer to Sander. He knew Sander could handle crowds, but he still felt the need to let Sander know he was there, that he wasn’t going anywhere. Sander pressed back, smiling to himself, oblivious to Robbe’s gaze taking in his every feature. 

They got through the door and Robbe was immediately hit with the smell of sweat and alcohol. The music was so loud that the furniture was shaking, making Robbe wonder how the party hadn’t gotten shut down yet. He led Sander through the house, knowing exactly where the boys would be hiding. 

They climbed to the second floor slowly and reached a closed door soon enough. Robbe knocked, receiving a quick ‘Occupied!’, followed by laughter.

Chuckling, he replied, “It’s me, assholes”. The door opened to the chants of ‘Robbe! Robbe! Robbe!’ and he ushered Sander in, closing and locking the door behind them. 

“Hey! You brought Jack Frost!” Moyo exclaimed, his happy tone letting Robbe know he was already drunk. Or high. Or both, most likely. 

Sander laughed, following Robbe as he sat down against the wall, facing the bathtub where Moyo, Jens and Aaron were huddled. 

Aaron handed Robbe the joint, who took it gratefully, whispering ‘Thank you’ as he brought it to his lips. Jens took a swing of the vodka bottle, grimacing, before he leaned forward.

“Hey, Sander? Vodka?” He asked, already pushing the bottle in his direction.

Sander shook his head. “Nah man, I don’t drink.” 

Moyo made a strangled sound, as if he’d been physically hurt by Sander’s declaration. 

“You don’t drink? Ever?” Moyo asked, his eyes twice their usual size and seeming suddenly very awake.

“Well, not really, no,” Sander said, shifting a little in discomfort.

Moyo’s mouth was hanging open and Aaron was shaking his head slowly in disbelief. Jens sighed, landing a slap on the back of Moyo’s head and giving him a stern look.

Aaron was the first to recover, turning back to Sander. “Dude, do you smoke at least?”

Sander gave a half-smile, shrugging. “Yeah, sometimes”

The three boys let out an exaggerated sigh of relief, wiping fake sweat off of their foreheads and muttering ‘thank god’ under their breath.

Robbe chuckled, handing Sander the joint. “You guys are such idiots.”

Moyo laughed, replying, “Oh come on loverboy, we can tease him too!”

Robbe squeezed Sander’s hand in question, silently asking ‘are you okay?’ and when Sander squeezed back, letting him know he was, Robbe relaxed against his side. Sander let his head fall on Robbe’s shoulder as they passed the joint back and forth, tuning in and out of the boys’ conversation.

\------------------------------------

After the second joint they’d shared between the two of them, Robbe and Sander had somehow found themselves laying next to each other on the floor. The boys had left after a while, claiming they had to go ‘get some’, before everyone was too drunk, leaving Robbe and Sander with the upstairs bathroom to themselves.

Robbe felt Sander roll onto his side, facing him. He let him caress his face slowly like he’d done earlier that same day, closing his eyes and humming in appreciation. 

“You’re so beautiful” Sander whispered, directly into Robbe’s ear, making him shiver. 

Robbe turned his face towards Sander’s, feeling the air change as he did. It felt heavier, but not in a suffocating and uncomfortable way. He felt warm all over, emotions bubbling in his stomach as he stared at Sander while he was tracing his face.

Robbe slowly inched closer, forcing Sander to drop his hand back down. They were practically breathing each other’s air by then, only a few millimeters separating their faces. 

Robbe breathed in slowly, whispering back, “There’s no way for you to know what I look like”.

An unknown emotion passed in Sander’s eyes, making Robbe feel overwhelmed all at once. Sander inched his hand back to Robbe’s face, letting it rest on his cheek. He parted his lips, the words on the tip of his tongue.

“I can-” He started, before being interrupted by a loud banging on the door. It made both of them jump slightly.

Robbe sighed, screaming, “Occupied!” towards the general direction of the door.

Jens’ muffled voice came from the other side. “Bro, the police are here, we’re all leaving. You coming?”

Robbe laid his head back on the floor, grunting in displeasure. Sander laughed, hitting his shoulder playfully. 

“Come on, let’s leave before you have to throw away that third joint.” Sander said, sitting up. Robbe followed him, linking their arms together as soon as they were standing upright. Sander chuckled, but let him, following him out of the bathroom and all the way through the backdoor.

The boys headed towards their own house, Robbe and Sander leaving together. 

“Robbeeeee”, Sander whined, leaning more heavily into Robbe.

Robbe laughed, ruffling his hair. “Yes, Sander?”

“Can I please stay at yours tonight? Please, please, please.” Sander asked, giving Robbe one of his irresistible pouts. 

Robbe acted like he was considering the question for a moment, prompting Sander to deepen his pout even more. 

Finally, Robbe took pity on him, agreeing and stirring them towards the nearest bus stop. 

\-----------------------------------------------

When they got in, the house was completely quiet, which meant that they were probably alone, as it was barely 1am. With Sander literally hanging off of him, Robbe somehow managed to get them to his room, letting Sander fall onto the bed. He undressed himself, grabbing a shirt and some boxers to sleep, before throwing a shirt at Sander.

Sander picked the clothes up in his hands, before letting himself fall back down on the bed.

Robbe sighed. “No, Sander, come on. You have to get changed”

  
  


Sander shook his head, refusing to move. Resigned, Robbe took over, undressing him as Sander laid unmoving like a lump. He struggled to get him changed into the shirt, but succeeded eventually, getting back up to go shut the light off.

When he came back, he found Sander already snuggled under the covers, his head on Robbe’s favourite pillow. Robbe chuckled to himself, laying down next to him. Automatically, Sander’s arm came to rest around his body, hugging him from behind. Robbe snuggled even closer, sighing happily at the warmth and the comfort.

He felt himself start to doze off almost immediately, his eyelids weighing heavy.

“Robbe?” Sander said, hushed.

Robbe groaned in response, not even bothering to open his eyes.

“You have to break up with her, you know”

Robbe sighed, knowing Sander was right, once again. 

“Yeah.”

Sander didn’t seem satisfied with that answer though, pressing on. “Tomorrow?” He said, his voice hopeful.

Robbe was too tired to really think, agreeing easily. “Alright. Tomorrow.”

That seemed to be the right answer, as Robbe could feel Sander’s smile on his neck. Sander murmured a small ‘Merci’ and hugged him closer.

Feeling soft and warm, Robbe let himself drift off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm sorry for the delay babies, I got sick and then sprained my wrist (I am currently typing this with a sprained wrist, do as i say, not as i do). I hope u enjoy this and pls remember, we are in Robbe's head and Robbe can be a pure idiot sometimes, so everything isn't always as it seems!


End file.
